One step at a time
by EndEmi
Summary: Was this really the man Parthevia wanted gone? This moron? He didn't look like a king at all with long purple hair and gold-sandy eyes. But Ja'far had a mission and no overly confident idiot with gorgeous eyes could lead that mission astray... or at least that's what he thought. Warning for OOC:ness :) Following the process of Adventure of Sinbad manga.
1. News

A goblet fell with a loud crash, nothing in the room moved when the body met the floor. Nobody breathed and the silence after was the loudest in history. Everyone waited, a heartbeat; two…

And when nothing more then happened, a breath of air was sucked out of the room. It was as if everybody let out their breath on the same time. All went back to normal, or at least as normal it can be when you almost was blown to pieces in a room full of assassins. And a man nobody really knew had died.

Something big was bound to happen this evening and everybody knew it. It wasn't easy to mingle in a calm sense when somebody could just kill whoever anytime.

Ja'far didn't want to be a part of it all, he had just come because his elder had told him that it would be a big announcement in the end of the evening that would change things and he was still curious enough to let himself be dragged to the thing. Now he was just standing alone in a corner overlooking the big spectacle; not drinking nor eating, he had no intention of dying tonight thank you.

Everybody in the room who was someone had a great deal of enemies, and even they who nobody knew had enemies; just because they were assassins and a assassin is never loved, not even by his own.

Maybe he should have thought about dressing in something else, the brown cloak and bandage didn't exactly stand out but they didn't blend very well either. Out on the street they were no problem but in here, with all the people in nice clothes and fancy jewelry's he was an eyesore. He was the youngest of the group, had always been. Fist when he started to live of the street he was just a common thief like every other orphaned kid, but all needs a way to survive right, and thievery didn't hold in the end so assassin was a good compliment, and he had a way with it so why not.

The red strings around his arms reflected in the poor lightning in the room and stood out against his ivory skin, never something he had been nervous about before that people might see them, they still didn't know what they was for. But in here, when most of the people knew him or of him, they were a nail in sore eyes. Everyone knew what they did and what he could do with them, and you just didn't go flinging around you assassin tool to others; not in a delicate situation like this. It was like asking to get killed, and not in a good way.

So far 4 people had died, and as the darkness fell more would come to join the watchers of the night. There was plenty of food and wine on the table, but just a very few fools did eat and drink of it. Nobody wanted to take a shot from a poisoned goblet like before.

"Well well well if it isn't little Ja'far! How come you are invited here, I thought we didn't pick up dirty snakes?"

A robust man was walking over to where Ja'far stood, with a loud booming voice everyone within a mile could hear him; probably wanted to be imitating but all he got was a glare. He wouldn't give him the pleasure of a reply.

"How about it nosy, did you want to be with the big boys or are Parthevia's starting to get bored of you huh?"

Still ignored, Ja'far casted an eye around the room of all the people looking at them.

"Will you look at me when I'm talking to you scum!" A roar now, someone should learn to behave and it wasn't him for ignoring the man.

"Hey you!" The fat man's hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder and when he moved, a sharp dagger could be seen from under his cloak, not a good situation to be in.

"That's enough Malither."

Another hand had come to rest upon the mans on his shoulder and someone was standing behind him. The fat man, apparently Malither jerked his hand away liked it had been burned; but the other stayed on his shoulder, safe and warm.

"Why do you care Yamisha, he's not your friend or anything, just a slimy snake here to make a mocking of us all."

"He's still not yours to torment Malither, he has done nothing wrong tonight and you know it"

Malither just gave the newcomer a snarl, turned and walked away with angry stomps.

"It is not wise to raise your weapons in here young Ja'far, everyone is on edge and another bloodbath would not stay as calmly as the last one."

His hand on Ja'fars shoulder tightened before letting go and with it Ja'far also relaxed the hand he had been clutching his blades in, ready to attack the annoying pig of before. He didn't turn, didn't need to. All he did was to stare on the now empty spot the man of before had been in, no he still didn't want to be here.

"You didn't have to…" Ja'fars voice was small and rarely used, so it came out more like a harsh whisper.

"No of course not, but like I said; I don't want another bloodbath and as you were about to kill that man, more blood had been inevitable tonight. And your head had certainly been quick to fall. "

"I can take care of myself..."

"Yes I know. But even if the emperor has grown tired of you, I haven't and would like you still with us."

He gave Ja'far a tiny smile but it went by unnoticed by Ja'far who still hadn't turned around.  
The dusk was falling quickly and soon the dim room had to be lit by torches and different kind of lights, the partying had been going on for a while and so nobody had died in the near hour so everybody had lighten up on the eating and drinking.

The shadows seemed to grow more and more intense as they crept up the walls, the opulent room grew smaller and Ja'far felt the uneasy feeling return. Everybody knew the egg of a knife and how it felt to be twisted in you stomach, and if the air in the room was a jagged knife everyone had one on their throat. for something was bound to happens and soon enough.

A big curtain fell over the empty stage; the silence that followed kept everyone at edge. A tall man appeared on the lit up space acting as a stage tonight and smiled broadly at the masses. Everyone knew him and it was easy to say he wasn't liked.

"Everyone!" He was clad in a velvet coat and dark shirt and pants that showed his wealth and high standard.

"Tonight we have the pleasure to be gathered here together in a celebration of joy. Not many of you have settle well with the new empire and it's ruler, but tonight we will have a big change in monarchy!"

The crowd was grunting in disagreement at his words but still kept quiet.

"As you all know the current ruler is a fat, lazy pig who can't distinguish between his feet and a sack potato; so tonight we have organized a mission to set the right ruler on the throne."

A clutter of lame applauds was heard, nobody seems to be overly excited over the flamboyant man.

"And how would we do that then?!" A woman with a sour look spoke from the back of the room.  
"We all know you cannot just kill the king, nothing would change and the council would just place another moron there in his stead." She continued with agreeing nods and 'that's right' from her fellow assassin's.

"And that's the grand scheme of our plan, we plan to infiltrate the council and overpower the deciding order of those fools and then we can set out the new move!"

"Who is this new ruler you talk of?" The crowd was a bit more interested now but still overly skeptical.

"The Kou empire has offered us a great deal of money to whoever organize and carry out this plan, they think that putting a son of the emperor on the throne will strengthen the hold and double the discipline of the people."

Ja'far had stopped listening a long time ago, this was not a big announcement; this was just another one of their silly plans to overthrow the king. he had witnessed some of these so called 'plans' before and all had ended in disaster.

He tried to get out of there, unwilling to participate in this nonsense anymore. It should have been an easy task when all the other was focused on the speaker, if not someone he recognized had been standing beside the door.

Ja'far bowed his head and tried to slink past the assassin without a word but he was stopped before he passed the door. The long sword at his throat didn't faze him, just threw a nasty glare at the owner and maybe his 'companion' would let him through.

"Parthevia's has a mission for you"


	2. Look up!

Hi, sorry for the wait. My sister keeps nagging me that I never update so just to shut her up here it is ^^ I do the same thing to her so maybe I deserve it... I am sorry if this chapter follows the manga a little too much but it'll get better, I just had to write this part because it will play a pretty big part in the future, the fundation of their relationship. :) Hope you'll enjoy.

The throne room was not as opulent as some other kings around but it was to be expected with the situation they were in, war; always war. And for some reason the king had thought it to b a good idea to send that useless military brat to do his battles for him, not very wise. The princess had apparently not been much more successful and had had to be rescued from a barrel in the sea while the traitor ran free. Honestly was he just a child?

"Seems like Young Dragoul is in need some assistance with the dungeon."

"Shut up Vittel…"

"Yes sir"

It still felt weird to be the head of an assassin group to Ja'far but as long as they listened to him it was fine. Honestly that someone even took him serious was good enough, he had to fight long and hard to make it to the top and now when he finally was here he would do everything in his powers to keep it.

So apparently now it was their turn to go with the spoiled brat to do his deeds and retrieve the dungeon to the king. Hah not a chance, if the king let them in that dungeon he would surely try to grab the djing for himself, provided that the traitor did not make it first. Now how to prevent that...?

The emperor had not told them specifically that they couldn't kill the traitor, Simbad apparently; so that was exactly what Ja'far would do.

Taking matters into his own hands Ja'far crept along the roofs tops of the small village of these monstrous creatures home, how his victim had ended up here was a mystery for Ja'far but not something he cared over for the moment. When they had told him Simbad ha left his country and fled by boat things got a little more complicated but no impossible. When had he ever had difficulties locating his victims, so this one was a piece of cake.

The wind that was howling over his head had picked up in the last hour and made him freeze inside, refusing to shudder he just crept forward; toward his goal. He was made for more than this, more than just some petit mission to kill a little brat from some small village that didn't want to do his military service, but a job was a job and no matter what they said Ja'fa kind of enjoyed it.

He had stalked the man earlier that day, to see where he went; it was always easier to attack someone when they didn't expect it, cowardly perhaps but much easier. An he had a hard time making up his mind about this person, he was young, perhaps a few years older than Ja'far, had long purple hair and a idiots confidence and he had driven Ja'far absolutely nuts with his cheerful attitude, maybe it was best to get this job done as soon as possible. Wondering briefly if he should wait the backup he found the right roof and peered into the room, there he was.

Sleeping soundly in the middle of the bed, they looked kind of peaceful, Ja'far felt something stir in his guts, something he hadn't felt before and it made him edgy, something didn't feel justright.

Well the best plan of attack was after all attack so it was now or never. Not bothered to think anymore he let his assassin's instincts take over, it was much easier to let everything go on autopilot than to actually think of what he was about to do.

The attack was to be swift and silent but suddenly something he hadn't anticipated made connection with his stomach and made him tumble backwards. The hit was hard, aby the nd it hurted, momentarily confused about what had just happened Ja'far tried to sit up and when he did everyone else in the room had also woken by the commotion.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Oh great, now the moron was awake and with him the others, well no time to lose; he had a mission to do and nothing was going to stand in his way. throwin his knives at the others in the room they wrapped obediently around their arms and bodies, making them immobilized so the only thing standing between him and his target was Sinbads confidence that they would be able to break free from his wiers, ha not a chance.

Ja'far took a firmer grip around his assassin knife and launched forward, make this quick and soon it would be over. Something he always tried to convince himself with but always knew it wasn't true. He was not a monster, no matter how much everyone else tried to raise him above them to be the best of the assassin's, everyone he killed had surely been in cold blood but never without feelings. Never without conscious and always for a reason. Lately he had begun wondering if that reason was only because someone told him so, if so then his actions were justified enough to not have guilt lingering after each deed.

The moron, Sinbad was not ready for his attack this time and with a swift flicker of the wire and a foot in the guts Ja'far had him pinned down on the floor with his comrades screaming in the background. His knife had scratched the purple mans arm in the fall but not penetrated it enough to make any bigger harm, well that he would have to change now would he, could not let him go without taking his life.

The man on the floor was staring up in Ja'far's blood red eyes with a fear that always was gratifying to see in his victims, they knew he was above them and that there was nothing they could do about it. He an orphaned child would be the one to decide if they deserved to see the dawn of a new day or not.

But this man was different somehow, he didn't have the same eyes as the rest of them. They had fear, but also wonder, surprise and determination and it choked Ja'far. What did this man see that none of the others didn't, did he know something Ja'far didn't?

Red eyes stared into golden brown for a split moment, wondering why? and that was all it took for Sinbad to act. Ja'far saw the movement but to late, he stuck his knife into te waiting flesh of his next victim but the same time Sinbad had grabbed hold of his sword to parry the attack.

"Sucks for you but, I don't plan to die here!"

suddenly a lightning struck from nowhere and hit Ja'far with a force that he had definitely not anticipated, making his whole body twitch and fall backwards, numb with the sudden pain. Not sure if he blacked out or if it was just the light in the room that disappeared for a moment but whatever it was it could not be good, not good at all.

Numb, numb was not good at all, he flt his whole body hit the ground and just lay still, muffled voiced moved around him and someone put a hand over his throat. Okay so this was it, a failed mission was the equivalent of his death and this time he was down for it. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to get this one himself but never could he had guessed it went like this. The hand on his throat pushed down on his puls, if they were going to choke him atleast they could make it thoroughly, not like this.

The hand on his throat disappeared and reappeared at his forehead, this was a very weird way of killing someone; maybe he was to live so long until this numbness wore off and then when they put their sword in him he would feel it more. The voices had become clearer now and he could hear faint whispers from the people in the back and someone discussing what they would do with him.

"What were you thinking Sinbad, you could have killed him!?"

"Well to be fair he tried to kill me and I had no other choice in the moment did I?

"I think at least we have got to hear what he has to say before leaving him to the authorities, Hinohoho tie him up will you."

Another set of hands grabbed Ja'far and rope was tied firmly around his body and hands so there was no way that he could escape. His vision was mostly back now and he could see the people in the room standing before him looking grim, two sears was driven into the ground before him where he now kneeled and the giants holding them didn't seem to bulk in the nearest future, his only way out of this was death.

"Okay to begin with, who are you?"

Sinbad seemed to have recover from the attack and stood firm with his arms folded before him, hard to believe he was only a child; but Ja'far hadn't much to say there really. Refusing to answer he just turned his head slightly to the side, looking for another way out than the one he had come through.

"What's your name? Who're are you with? Where are you from?"

This moron didn't give in easily did he, this was even more tedious than to have died right away, to have to listen to all of these stupid questions. Apparently if he didn't answer they would keep him there to die, hah as if they could; he would surely come up with something if they just gave him some more time, and judging by this fool before him that would not be a problem.

"Since I'm your target I guess Parthevia sent you, right? For a child so young to become an assassin, that's pretty remarkable"

Well he had no idea how hard Ja'far had to fight to get where he was now, not compare to this moron who had had everything laid out before him. Letting out a soft sneer Ja'far looked up at the man before him again, making eye contact for the first time since he'd been captured; the only thing he saw in there was determination and confidence and it sickened him. Aperently his sneed didn't go unnoticed by hi captuer.

"Hey did you just sneer, you have some serious attitude problems kid are you even listening?!"

Not giving him the satisfaction to respond Ja'far broke away once again and scanned the room.

"You shouldn't be doing this at that age, I don't know what you've been through but you'll make your parents sad. Do you think you can live a proper life doing this, you can't grow up to a decent man this way get it?"

Oh shit this moron was so freaking irritating, can't he just shut the hell up! He didn't need some hero speech about how bad all of this was, didn't he think he already knew, that he wouldn't have done something different if he had a choice? Sure this was what he was good at and what he kind of liked but deep down even Ja'far knew that maybe if he could, he would have chosen a better life.

Decent man? yeah right, like he was any better than those who fought in the war, than those who killed to just survive the day. This brat surely didn't know anything about the world did he. He did what he must and if that means killing then that was what he would do, and mentioning his parents didn't do things better.

"Shut up…"

"Watch the way you talk, that's the problem; don't you thinks that'll bring shame to your parents?"

Shut up shut up shut up! why did he have to keep talking about his parents, why did he have to be so persistent about how Ja'far behaved, he did what he liked and no one could tell him otherwise. He didn't have to answer to Sinbad, to Parthevia and definitely not to his parents!

It hurt, somewhere deep inside it still hurt and that made him angry, why couldn't he just leave him alone.

"That's why I said shut up! My parents kicked the bucket ages ago you moron!"

Oh God why did it have to hurt…

"Parents huh… I killed them when I was six! You won't ever understand how great that felt. Haha hows that?! Giving you the chills?!"

The other residents in the room backed away a bit after his outburst, maybe they feared him now; maybe they finally understood that he was not some child to be played with, he was an assassin.

The feeling of satisfaction didn't last long until a hand connected with his face, whipping it to the side with a burning sensation to his cheek. Did that bastard just slap him?

"Don't speak so proudly about killing your parents with your own hands!"

Proudly? Proudly?! Did that idiot seriously thought he was proud of what he had done? Did he think he did it for pleasure, for honore? He had no choice, had no other way of surviving, who the hell did he think he was? Yes maybe he had been proud of it, maybe he took some pleasure in knowing they were not here anymore to destroy his life even more than they had already. But it was no way he would let this Moron stand there and look down on him for it. No. Way. In. Hell!

"You bastard! Who do you think I am?! I am the head of assassins, it's my job to kill! I'm not in the same world a you are, just shup up and let me kill you!"

Yes he sounded crazy, judging of the reaction of the others in the room he must have looked the part too but he didn't care. If these people thought he was anything less than them just because he chosen a different path in life, that he did not do anything in his powers to reach his goals just like the rest of them.

"Everyone of my victims, breathed their last…"

"Thats right… for such a child to become a killer, it's so pitiful."

Sinbad had bent down before him while speaking, kneeling in the same height as Ja'far to look him in the eyes. Maybe out of pity, maybe because he didn't want Ja'far to feel like he was being looked down on; in which case it completely threw Ja'far of guard.

"What…? Why are you giving me that look?"

Why? he didn't understand, did it look like he wanted pity? Those gold-brown eyes was holding something in them that Ja'far could not place but he certainly didn't like it, didn't understand why Sinbad cold not just kill him off and be done with it. Did he look like he could not stand for his action, like he wasn't aware of every one of them; didn't he think Ja'far was good enough for his profession? A child? Who was he to call him a child?

"You are a child yourself! Don't you make fool out of me!"

Drawing a deep sigh Sinbad raised to his feet, like Ja'far was wasting his time and that was exactly what he was trying to do.

"You bastard!"

Something small could be heard thrown from the ceiling and connect with the floor, the next second the whole room filled with smoke. Ja'far used the distraction to jump to his feet and the next moment someone had grabbed him around the waist and was hurling themself out the roof, hn freaking time. The clear cold air was a welcomed feeling filling his lungs with freedom, his heart still ramming with anger but at least he was out of that room.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, are you unharmed chief?

Those two imbeciles had finally decided to show up huh? Mahad and Vittel jumped away over the rooftops the same way he had come before with no care in the world.

"Too slow what took you so long?!"

"Nah we didn't expect out chief to break in by himself."

"I had to scout by myself because you are so useless! Can't you scumbags do anything right without me?"

This was not over, no this was far from over and all he could think of was that moron Sinbad who was surely to die by his hands sooner or later. Never would he stop until he had that man in his clutches.

"I'll kill you for sure next time, Sinbad!"


	3. Into the unknown

Stomping through the halls was certainly not something he had done before and hoped to never been seen doing again; every creature that stood in the corridor ran out of sight as he stormed past them, sure he may be small but over the years Ja'far had built a reputation and that was not to mess with the assassin. The Palace was not the best place to return to in his state of failure but no one would get to know about the embarrassing encounter he just had with the ultimate moron Simbad. It was not the first mission he had failed, everything took time and even he wasn't a full fledge assassin when Parthevia's plucked him from the streets; he had to learn, and the best learning was through failures.

Damn it, nobody was even to know about his assassination try on the man, The Emperor had strictly speaking forbidden anyone to kill him but since Ja'far never was a rule-keeper he did as he liked anyway.

In the end of the corridor Vittel stood calmly against the wall, watching his tantrum in a cool manner with an amused smile on his lips. Sure his boss had always had mood swings but it was rarely this bad, usually he was a lot more conserve with his temper and only took it out on Mahad or Vittel himself in time of need but nobody seems to irk him like this Simbad guy had.

"With all due respect boss, why is this guy so much more important than the rest?"

Ja'far had stopped his angry stomping right before the doors and slowly turned to Vittel with blazing eyes.

"Because, wipp-nip, this idiot is a traitor of the land and he is going to conquer more dungeons and djinns and for every one of them he is going to get stronger, soon there is no stopping him and our emperor don't want that."

Vittel drew a deep breath of calming air, sometimes Ja'far was the dens one.

"Yes yes I know all that, I mean why are you getting your knickers in a twist over just this guy, he is not the first rising in power we have snatched and he certainly won't be the last, why him?"

"Because! I.. I don't like him…"

Ja'far threw a last glare at his companion before entering the room he had planned before, the noise of the banging doors echoed between the walls and made the reeds shake in their vases.

Vittle just shook his head and pushed himself away from the wall, stalking down the corridor in the opposite way Ja'far went; still chuckling slightly at his boss's behavior.

Still with the dungeon buzzing in his head Ja'far decided that if anyone was going to get that djin-power it would surely be him. Summoning Vittel and Mahad was not hard, wherever he was they were not far behind, He kind of liked that about them but never in the world would he admit that. It would be considered a weakness to always rely on your backup and friends was equally bad to have, that's why he made sure they remembered he was their boss.

The dungeon laid in the middle of a stream in the mountains with waterfalls on either sides, too far away from everything and definitely too cold for any living human to ever go there willingly.

All of this and a lot more complaining had Vittel and Mahad endured from the time they sat foot in the Imuchakk region, somehow it seemed like Ja'far hadn't had anyone to complain to when he traveled there the last time so now he took everything out on them.

The 6th dungeon was nothing out of the ordinary; everything looked calm and serene but upon entering that feeling was getting nagged at. Something bad had happened in here.

Ja'far stood in the pathway where the entrance to the dungeon begun but something felt wrong, he had never alone (or with his retarded companions of course) tried to conquer a dungeon before but he had heard plenty about it, wasn't it to be more of a fight?

"So this is a dungeon huh, it's pretty quiet…"

Vittel looked around the high ceiling and the shell sprinkled ground, almost like they were on the bottom of a sea, crystals and other strange ornaments that didn't look like they belonged there stood against the shining walls and the only sounds that was heard were flutter of butterflies; even more strange.

A slight movement behind them made everyone on the alert, they weren't assassins for nothing.

"You shouldn't take a dungeon lightly, there's no telling what kind of enemy awaits inside, keep your guard up"

Strolling behind them came the emperors little pet Dragul, not one of Ja'fars favorite persons but no one he cared to pick a fight with right now. Behind him was Parthevia empires Magician Counselor Furlan, a man Ja'far definitely didn't like even less than the spoiled general brat; what were they doing here.

He looked Dragul up and down, shiny new armor, a sword equipped with a household vessel; so he had come for the djinn just like they had, this was going to get interesting.

"You are not even a dungeon conqueror.."

Ja'far snorted in the direction of the newcomers which irked Dragul greatly apparently.

"Is that how you talk to a higher official!?"

His voice rose an octave and he almost shrieked, shit this man was easily to offend, let's do it again.

"Your friggin rules don't apply to the assassin's guild!"

"Why You little..!"

Oh my he could go even higher; this was going to be fun. Snickering slightly under his breath Ja'far almost missed the nudge in the side from Vittel, turning around he could see the butterflies that was scattered about before gathering themselves together in a , looming over the group on the ground.

"Oh… They don't look friendly"

Furlan stated beside them with a monotonous voice. God how Ja'far detested him.

Dragul begun to say something about being careful but Ja'far wasn't listening to him anymore, this was time for action and not carefulness. Vittel and Mahad had already drawn their weapons and were on the edge of their toes, awaiting the command they knew would soon come.

"Do it"

Ja'fars voice was low and sharp, just like he always gave command when things turned serious and greatly his companions listened. The two assassins jumped of the ground towards the oncoming butterflies and pulled their weapons. Ja'far just looked for a while, secretly pleased with his friends (would never admit that either), before pulling out his own blades and joined the attack.

If it was anything he really liked that he could fully commit to it was his knives, they had saved his life countless of times and he would never in the world switch them for anything else, not even greater backup. The two triangular blades attached to a red wire was slim and cool in his hands, the recess pieces created a down spiraling pattern to the ends making them weight evenly in battle. He loved them.

Dragul wined something about doing as he commanded but everyone ignored him as usual.

They moved on slowly, still struggling with the oncoming pests that Vittel had come to call them, greatly irritated over their persistence and never ending numbers. Ja'far glanced back at Dragul who hadn't joined the fight at all, neither had Furlan but since he wasn't to any help either way Ja'far didn't give a shit.

The battling became tedious after a while and Ja'far begun to wonder if it was really such a good idea to come here after all, if this was all they would encounter it was surely not worth the job.

Apparently Dragul had had enough too, he took a step forward for the first time since the battle begun and pulled something from his belt.

"What the… why you... Back off! We don't need help from you scumbag!"

What did this moron thought he was doing, like he had something better to beat those irritating shits with..?

A blazing bright light filled the whole cave and for a split second the glow blinded everyone in there. The cracking noise the lightning that shot out of Dragul's weapon made was like nothing Ja'far had heard before, it was like the heavens had split open and toasted the remaining butterflies. God's wrath send upon them, it was not not normal but surely intriguing. When everything has quiet down they just stood and stared for a moment, before Ja'far decided that he wanted that thing, and supposedly Mahad had come to the same conclusion.

Ja'far had barely opened his mouth to give him a command before the large man was over Dragul, reaching for the lightning shooting weapon. But Dragul wouldn't let himself become overthrown by some assassins, he adjusted something on the thing before raising it, pointing straight to Mahad and fired.

The little bulbs of sparkling light hit him everywhere and for a moment he froze in mid-movement; before falling down in a heap on the floor, twitching and screaming from every nerv. Dragul looked to smug for his own good.

"That is a Dungeon's magic tool, right?" Furland spoke for the first time since the battle had begun, and Dragul was happy to comment.

"As expected of a magician, the dungeon treasures that Sinbad brought back are confiscated property of Parthevia now"

He continued to explain the way the weapon converted lightning to a fire and what different settings it had, paralyzing someone for a while. Ja'far stood off to the side, listening with all ears, but a bored look on his face. He definitely wanted that thing.

"Interesting…" Ja'far mumbled under his breath. If the bandages hadn't covered his mouth and the majority of his face he would have looked more smug but Vittel saw either way, shaking his head at his boss once more. This was not gonna be forgotten in Ja'fars eyes, and Vittel knew Mahad could endure more than that; it may had just caught him by surprise. Either way Ja'far was not pleased with him to say the least.

"Surprisingly you are not half bad; I'll start to see you in a new light"

The sarcasm that dropped from Ja'fars voice went unheard of by Dragul, the suck up was just for show and Vittel knew he only tried to carny his way to Dragul because of that Dungeon tool.

Ja'far sauntered over to Mahad on the floor and started to stop down on him really hard while screaming what a useless piece of shit he was that he couldn't endure pain. A act he never would admit was just for show, to keep his reputation he told himself. The continued forward, Dragul concerned if they would just leave Mahad lying on the floor, but Ja'far knew his companion well enough to know he was fine.

"He'll catch up on his own, buzz off"

Said and done Mahad rose from the floor with Dragul still standing worryingly to the side, staring at the assassins like they were insane, which they probably was. Ja'far was secretly proud of them both.

The struggle forward made Ja'far wonder if this man, this moron was worth everything they went through. Sure this was the prospect of a Dungeon treasure and conqueror and every title who came with it but was the mission really worth it. Ja'far had always been more selfish than caring and even though he on some level cared about Mahad and Vitte, he would have no problem to throw them away to achieve his goals. The only problem was that he had no real idea what those goals were yet. Did he want power? Did he want fortune? Or did he just want acceptance?

A whole life struggling to define what he was, what he was meant to be hadn't been an easy ride. Ja'far always believed that he had found it when he joined the assassin's guild, and then got promoted to head of the assassins, he was sure that he was content.

But lately he had begun to falter in that belief. How did one know when he was really happy?

"Happiness…."

Ja'far snorted under his breath, happiness was a fool's game and maybe Sinbad believed in that kind of nonsense but Ja'far knew better.


	4. You dare to challenge me?

The path that let through the dungeon didn't become easier and when they stumbled over a dead end Dragul's patience was worn too thin.

"I can't believe this nonsense! How are we to ever catch up to Sinbad if all we ever do is running into dead ends?!"

Ja'far was itching to point out to the fool that this was the first dead end they had met but he chose to keep quiet and just roll his eyes, something that didn't went unnoticed by Vittel who snickered quietly. A sound of someone moving was heard over Dragul's whining voice and Ja'far turned slowly to try and locate whatever it could be, he was on edge in case the butterflies was to return or something worse. The noise got closer and it sounded a lot like running feet, two people to be exact and from a part in the mountain came the two people they had been following this whole time, Sinbad.

So the dead end which apparently wasn't that dead to begin with revealed the two people Ja'far wanted and at the same time didn't want to see the most, but he knew it was unavoidable and maybe for the best if Dragul was to get his Djinn they couldn't have competition running around and stealing the treasure from them.

When Dragul finally saw them too he immediately became more composed and his face cracked into a sly grin, something that Ja'far couldn't decide if it suited the arrogant prat more than the pathetic whining.

"It's been a while, Sinbad"

They both looked surprised to see them there and when the bigger of the two pointed at Ja'far and asked if it wasn't him that had attacked them before he felt a kind of pride. Sure he had failed miserably and it still stung a bit that a brat like Sinbad was able to overpower him, him an assassin. But he had convinced himself that Sinbad had cheated and all was well, at least until now.

The previous dungeon-conqueror was mocking Dragul with something he couldn't care less about and before the general could lose his temper yet again Sinbad and that big oaf jumped into a pond that lay in the end of the cave, presumably leading the path on to their goal; so much for that dead end. Vittel muttered something about not wanting to be wet when it looked like their only chance of catching them was to follow, when they both came back up the surface again. Apparently Furlan had made the water into ice, a bitch move but pretty clever Ja'far mused when it finally was their turn to play the game.

Ignoring Dragul once more he and his companions threw themselves over Sinbad and his shivering friend, now was the time to get rid of them once and for all. Vittel and Mahad was good fighters and that big moron didn't have a chance before Sinbad interfered with his damn lightning, maybe it was lucky Vittel and mahad had been trained so hard or else they would had be a goner when Sinbad hit them with all his force. Not willing to fall for that trick twice Ja'far made a diversion and came up behind them, but Sinbad was quicker than he had anticipated and the moment Ja'far threw his daggers Sinbad countered them; it was a fight with no mean.

Ja'far couldn't help to be slightly impressed with Sinbad's fighting skills; the way he knew where to hit and where to avoid being hit to give and take the most damage was clever. He was a bit ruff in the edges that he admits, but the technique was there and he would one day be a really skillful fighter. One Ja'far would gladly face, sure his technique wasn't that refine either since he more often attacked in anger instead of thoughtfulness but what the hell, as long as he could beat his opponent everything would be fine. Their blades clashed once more and the force of Sinbad's lightning enforced sword threw Ja'far back a bit. Stopping briefly before making his next attack Ja'far made the mistake of locking eyes with Sinbad, just like before the other was determined and steadfast in his gaze and fighting but he also saw compassion and belief in there, something Ja'far severely missed and never had the hopes of obtaining.

It hurt, more than being hit by lightning did the feeling of missing something he never allowed himself to have and knowing that he could never gain. The moment of hesitation from Ja'far's part must have made Sinbad halt as well; the two rivals stood there for a brief moment and just stared at each other, daring the other to strike first. Ja'far heard from behind Furlan making a comment that they didn't have the leisure to do something, but the magician was the least of his problems right now.

Before none of them did anything for their next move that big oaf said something to Sinbad that was lost to Ja'far but wasn't that hard to guess when Sinbad raised his now glowing sword in the air. This was time for a new djinn attack and this time Ja'far would be ready for it.

But the moment never came, small balls of light shoot past him and made Sinbad drop his sword from the attack he had planned to do, turning around Ja'far could see Dragul still standing on the top of the rocks with his weapon pointing towards them. That brat thought he could interfere in their fight? He had even gone so far as to take Sinbad's sword but said man didn't seem too bothered by it. Vittel and Mahad attacked again but the two targets could still hold their ground against Ja'far's assassins, this was getting a tad ridiculous. Suddenly a strong wave of power ripped through the cave and Sinbad's huge friend was over Mahad in an instant.

His fighting technique had change and Ja'far suddenly realized where he had seen this kind of people before, felt this power. The people of the north tribe was really modest about their strength but there had been isolated cases in the kingdom when someone had angered one of the Northern Tribes and the Imuchakk's was not to be taken lightly in those situations.

This man was clearly a newbie but his brute force in the hits was not something Ja'far wanted to be bothered with right now, he had bigger fishes to fry. Taking advantage of the situation when the Moron was distracted he rushed up behind him, taking aim and swinging his daggers at the exposed neck that was just waiting for him, unsuspecting, inviting.

The thing Ja'far hadn't counted on was for Sinbad's fist to hit him hard in the face before his knives was able to grace the skin. Just like when they had been sleeping Sinbad looked like he reacted out of reflexes and had no trouble to avoid every other charge Ja'far tried to hit the future king with. The man was slippery like an eel and Ja'far couldn't help to get more and more frustrated with the situation.

"The Hell!? How can you read my movements? Answer me Sinbad!"

His whole body was shaking in anger and frustration, why couldn't this brat be easy to kill just like every other moron he had had the pleasure to target. This was infuriating and things didn't become better when the answer Sinbad gave his was 'I just know'. Who did this brat think he was? Would Sinbad simply have the power to read the future or was he just lucky with his movements, Ja'far charged forward again but to no vain, Sinbad easily dodge it and this time with a smile on his ever annoying face.

'Trustworthy as an ally, troublesome as an enemy' Never would he admit it but this time Dragul was right, this man was certainly no one to mess with; but it was all part of the game, wasn't it.

The fight went on and soon Ja'fars patience was running thin, things would never resolve like this; time to reveal his ace in the sleeve. He signaled to Vittel and Mahad that it was no use holding back and he could feel his two companions growing behind him. This was it, this was the time to show those stuck ups that they were not to mess with.

"Crush them"

Said and done all Ja'far needed to do was stand to the side and watch his 'friends' smash Sinbad and the Fatso to pieces, a much satisfying task indeed. If the bandages wasn't covering most of his face the smile he would have shown was sure to put some people of, it was not usual to Ja'far to show that kind of emotion except when it came to anger, so for him to be smiling right now felt weird. Ja'far couldn't really pinpoint if seeing his friends making mashed potatoes of the people in front of him or if it was something completely else that put forward his smile; but one thing was clear and that was he would keep smiling when those two idiots were dead and gone. Just for the disturbance of it, not because it was certain emotion he wanted, needed badly to cover up.

Things from there on was kind of a blur, Sinbad manage to escape using his djinn in the sword and knocking Dragul off guard, Furlan was out of that ice-magic and couldn't stop them like last time so they had to chase them the old fashion way, on foot. The tablet no one but Dragul could read, stuck up imperial ass; stated that it had to be cast in shadow to reveal the way. Said and done they were on their way and Ja'far had the floating suspicion they were ahead of Sinbad and that made Dragul hurry his steps even more. This cave was something on its own and Ja'far regretted it more and more with every new room they encountered, what was they doing here in the first place, wasn't their mission to kill Sinbad? Why couldn't they do it when he exited the cave instead of following him inside and risk dying in the meantime. Sure it would be harder and if Sinbad was as good in fighting as he had already shown it would not be an easy task, but manageable if necessary.

The next room was more opulent than any of the others and if Ja'far had any interest in fame and fortune this was the room to look for. A pendant lay innocently on a pedestal in the middle of the room and the moment Dragul touched it, smoke whirled from its core and filled the room with sparkles and colors.

A shape took form in front of their eyes and even Ja'far knew that this was it, this was the Djinn they had come all this way for, to conquer its power. The wolf took one look at them and decided that they were not worthy competition. Sinking back to a smaller, much cuddlier form made Dragul furious, he was there to obtain the King's power and since Valefor didn't want to take him serious, he would show him.

Apparently Furlan had not been who she said she was and Valefor didn't like puppet masters, slicing through the body and leaving a heap of cloth behind shocked even Dragul who hesitantly picked up the now lifeless doll. Ja'far knew she wasn't to be trusted from the beginning.

Slicing sorceress wasn't Valefor's only talents it seems, crushing Dragul's hopes and dreams was also one of them and telling the General that he wasn't King material did the trick just fine, maybe Ja'far could use that one in the future if he was forced to work with the brat again to put him down a notch.

During the time it took for Dragul to get his confident crushed by a floating dog Sinbad and that giant to a man came rushing into the room, panting but seemingly happy to have gotten there before it was too late.

When Valefor announced that it would be a challenge everyone could perform in, Ja'far got curious. Maybe this was his chance to a better life? Maybe he wouldn't have to scrape the bottom at Parthevia's feet to survive day by day, what things he could do with that kind of power… He threw a glance over his shoulder at his two companions, would they help him? They had no real reason other than the contract and that never stated that in the case of obtaining power they had to aid each other.

Just like he suspected Vittel asked, he dared to ask! That they would take the challenge by themselves, at first Ja'far felt a stab of betrayal, they dared to go up against him? Well well, clearly he had underestimated them, they were braver than they looked and he had to give them some credit for believing they could overthrow the organization. Fine then, he would have to kill them if it came to that, more victims was not that big of a loss and they had been pretty annoying for a time so no harm done.

It would be their loss right, he certainly felt nothing by having to kill them if it meant he could get out of there with the power of a King, nothing at all… No, it would be all fine.


End file.
